At a glance
Penrhos Feilw standing stones are two Bronze Age monoliths (c.3 m tall, 4,000+ years old) on Holy Island (Ynys Gybi), near Holyhead (LL65 2YE). Free Cadw site, accessible at all times. Short walk from roadside parking across open moorland. Combine with South Stack RSPB and Trefignath burial chamber for a full Holy Island day.
About Penrhos Feilw Standing Stones
Holy Island — Ynys Gybi — is connected to Anglesey by two road bridges and is home to Holyhead, the port for Irish ferries. But before the ferries, before the road bridges, and long before the railway, Holy Island was inhabited by communities for whom the sea was both boundary and connection — and Penrhos Feilw standing stones are among the most visible surviving monuments of those early inhabitants.
The two stones stand roughly 3 metres tall on the open moorland, visible from the nearby road and accessible via a short walk across rough grass. They are made of local igneous rock — the same ancient hard stone that underlies much of Holy Island — and have stood here since the Bronze Age, approximately 2000–1500 BCE. Their precise original purpose is unknown. Standing stone pairs across Britain are sometimes associated with ceremonial entrances, territorial markers or solar alignments, but at Penrhos Feilw no excavation has revealed definitive evidence for any particular function.
The stones are most rewarding visited as part of Holy Island's broader prehistoric landscape. Trefignath Neolithic burial chamber (2 miles north-east) is the island's other major prehistoric monument, and between the two sites — separated by 1,000 or more years of prehistory — Holy Island reveals a long continuity of human significance that persists today in the name "Ynys Gybi" — island of St Cybi, the 6th-century Celtic saint whose church stands in Holyhead.
Visiting tips
Getting there
Take the B4545 from Valley (A55 junction) west on Holy Island. Look for roadside parking near Penrhos (LL65 2YE) — a small pull-in on the right side of the road. The stones are visible from the road across the moorland, approximately 200 m from the parking area.
Holy Island prehistoric circuit
Combine Penrhos Feilw with Trefignath burial chamber (2 miles) and the view from South Stack for a complete Holy Island day. Holyhead town has cafés for lunch — the market hall is worth a visit.
Find it on the map
Frequently asked questions
Penrhos Feilw ("Penrhos of the Bare Place" in Welsh) consists of two standing stones on the moorland of Holy Island (<span lang="cy">Ynys Gybi</span>), Anglesey. The stones are approximately 3 metres (10 feet) tall, of local igneous rock, and have stood here for over 4,000 years — since the Bronze Age. Their original purpose is unknown but likely had ceremonial or territorial significance.
Bronze Age standing stones across Britain and Ireland were erected for purposes that are not fully understood. Possible functions include territorial markers, astronomical alignments, ritual gathering points, memorials to the dead, or waymarkers. Penrhos Feilw is unusual in consisting of a pair of stones rather than a single monolith — paired standing stones sometimes mark the entrance to an enclosure or have alignments to solar or lunar events.
Yes — the two sites are approximately 2–3 miles apart on Holy Island and combine very naturally for a day visit. South Stack (with its lighthouse and RSPB seabird cliffs) provides the dramatic coastal spectacle; Penrhos Feilw adds a completely different dimension of prehistoric time. Trefignath burial chamber, also on Holy Island, can be added to complete a Holy Island prehistory and nature day.
The stones are on the moorland south of the B4545 road between Holyhead and Four Mile Bridge on Holy Island. Take the B4545 west from Valley and look for a small roadside pull-in near Penrhos. A short path leads across the moorland to the stones. The postcode LL65 2YE will get you to the approximate area — the stones are visible from the road.
Very much so. Holy Island contains three significant prehistoric sites within a small area: Penrhos Feilw standing stones, Trefignath Neolithic burial chamber, and the Cytiau'r Gwyddelod (Irish huts) settlement. Combined with the South Stack seabird reserve and lighthouse, Holy Island offers one of the most varied day visits in North Wales, ranging from 5,000-year-old monuments to some of the best seabird viewing in Wales.